International Journal of Educational

Science and Research (IJESR)

ISSN (P): 2249-6947; ISSN (E): 2249-8052
Vol. 7, Issue 3, Jun 2017, 73-80
TJPRC Pvt Ltd.

ROLE OF BREAKFAST IN NUTRIENT INTAKE OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Akkavva Wadakappanavar. S1 & Pushpa Bharati2

1
Post Graduate Student, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Rural Home Science College
University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka, India
2
Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Rural Home Science College
University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka, India
ABSTRACT

Breakfast is among the important and first meal, which in early morning satisfies the nutritional needs and
increases mental work load ability. Eating breakfast improves the overall quality and nutrient intake of the diet. Intake of
protein was 5.25 (rural) and 5.56 g/d (urban) and could meet 104.48 per cent and 110.65 per cent of one fourth RDA,
respectively. Except visible fat, energy and sodium the intake of all nutrients was higher in breakfast consumers compared
to skippers with the adequacy of 82.12 per cent of fat and 61.63 per cent of energy. There was significant difference
between consumers and skippers in the intake of protein (19.82 vs. 15.36 g/d and 98.61 vs. 76.42 % adequate), visible fat
(16.37 vs. 20.53 g/d and 65.48 vs. 82.12 % adequate) and sodium (99.85 vs. 175.58 mg/d).There was significant difference

Original Article
in the intake of pulses, fruits, visible fats and eggs between breakfast consumers and skippers. Majority of rural (81.67 %)
and urban (75.0 %) children could not meet one fourth of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for energy while,
only few children in rural (18.33 %) and urban (25.0 %) one fourth of RDA could be met.

KEYWORDS: Breakfast, Nutrient Intake & Preschool Children

Received: Apr 27, 2017; Accepted: May 31, 2017; Published: Jun 13, 2017; Paper Id.: IJESRJUN20179

INTRODUCTION

Breakfast is considered an important meal of the day (Marika, 2003). It is described as the first meal, which
breaks the fast that had been on for over twelve to fourteen hours (Wayonet al., 1997). It is comprised of food or
beverage from at least one food group, and may be consumed at any location (Dwyer. 2014). Breakfast should
provide 25 per cent of the daily nutrient requirement to an individual (Gibson and OSullivan, 1995). It is a fact that
gap between dinner and breakfast is so high that an individual is really starving. Without a breakfast there is the
possibility of low blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia) and low metabolic rate, irritability and fatigue (Marika,
2003). The quality of the breakfast is important as the nutritional status of a child can be affected as well as the
physical and mental growth, health and general well-being of the child. Breakfast is important factor in the health of
children, as the body is low in energy reserve and there is a need for frequent supply of energy needed for the day.

Skipping breakfast has become the norm in modern day. India, because of changes in family life style,
When this happens largely among children, it can result in their suboptimal growth and development a factor
important to the future human resource development of the country (Chitra and reddy, 2006). It is estimated that
several children attend school daily without having eaten any breakfast and many more consume an inadequate
breakfast (Gross et al., 2004). Skipping breakfast can affect childrens physical and mental development (Sethi M,
Dangwal, 2001). Skipping breakfast may hinder child growth because the body is forced to call upon stores of

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74 Akkavva Wadakappanavar. S & Pushpa Bharati

protein to meet energy requirements. Eating breakfast improves the overall quality and nutrient intake of the diet. Several
investigators have suggested that omission of breakfast and/or consumption of an inadequate breakfast may be factors
contributing to dietary inadequacies, and that the accompanying nutrition al losses are rarely made up by other meals
during the remainder of the day (Colic Baric and Satalic et al., 2003). The dietary intake patterns of children have been a
special concern, since it was found that eating patterns formed in early life are likely to persist into adulthood.

Nutrition of preschool child is of paramount importance, because foundation for life time health, strength, and
intellectual abilities are laid down during this period. Preschool age is in between stages of infancy and school age, when
rapid physical, mental and emotional development takes place. Ten per cent of physical growth and 80 per cent of mental
growth are believed to take place from conception to 6 years of age. So, childhood diets need to be paid more attention to
improve health of children, so that health of nation is improved. But, food available to many children in developing nations
is neither adequate nor suitable for building resistance to diseases, mental and physical development. So, a large number of
pre-school children suffer from growth retardation of various degrees and nutritional deficiency (Manu and Khetarpaul,
2006). Hence, the study has been undertaken to assess the contribution of nutrients from breakfast.

METHODS

The study was conducted in rural and urban areas of Dharwadtaluk, Karnataka, India during 2013-2015. A total of
13 anganwadis were contacted, total of 565 preschool children in the age group of 5-6 years attending anganwadis were
selected, randomly. Information on breakfast consumption pattern of preschool children was obtained by interviewing the
mothers of the children, personally with the use of structured validated questionnaire. Breakfast consumers and skippers
were classified as always, often, sometimes and rarely (Liu et al., 2013), according to the regularity of breakfast consumed
by the children. With the help of standardized cups, amount of breakfast was recorded to estimate the food and nutrient
intake. Information on cooked food was converted to raw ingredients. The intake or nutritive value of the breakfast item
consumed was computed using software, Annapurna VAR 3 developed by M.R. Chandrasekhar of Bangalore. The data
were analysed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS). Descriptive statistics (percentages, ANOVAs two
factor, Independent t test), were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Mean nutrient intake through breakfast and its contribution to nutrient intake computed is furnished in Table 1
and adequacy is depicted in figure 1. It can be visualized from the Table and Figure that the contribution of breakfast to
the intake of major nutrients among all the preschool children studied was less than one third or one fourth of the
recommended dietary allowances except protein in both rural (104.48 %) and urban (110.65 %) locality.

Energy intake of rural children (253 Kcal) was slightly higher than urban children (247 Kcal) with the adequacy
of 75.07 and 73.29 per cent, respectively. Intake of protein was 5.25 (rural) and 5.56 g/d (urban) and could meet 104.48 per
cent and 110.65 per cent of one fourth RDA, respectively. The contribution of breakfast to intake of minerals like calcium,
iron and zinc was less than one fourth RDA. But, that of magnesium was higher than one fourth or one third RDA. Sodium
contribution was higher in urban while potassium was higher in rural than their counterparts.

Figure 2 represents distribution of preschool children based on breakfast consumption to meet one fourth RDA.
Results indicated that majority of rural (81.67 %) and urban (75.0 %) children could not meet one fourth of Recommended
Dietary Allowances (RDA) for energy while, only few children in rural (18.33 %) and urban (25.0 %) one fourth of RDA

Impact Factor (JCC):5.9865 NAAS Rating: 4.16

Role of Breakfast in Nutrient Intake of Preschool Children 75

could be met. Irrespective of locality, nearly 80 per cent of children did not meet one fourth of RDA for energy (78.33), but
only 21.67 percent of children could meet RDA for energy. More than 50 per cent of rural and urban children (51.69 and
55.84 %, respectively) met one fourth RDA for protein. Irrespective of locality, more than 50 per cent of children (55.84
%) met the protein requirement while, 44.16 per cent could not meet.

Mean nutrient intake through breakfast and its contribution to nutrient intake computed is furnished in Table 1
and adequacy is depicted in figure 1. Contribution of breakfast to the intake of major nutrients among all the preschool
children studied was less than one third or one fourth of the recommended dietary allowances, except protein in both rural
(104.48 %) and urban (110.65 %) locality.

Energy intake of rural children (253 Kcal) was slightly higher than urban children (247 Kcal) with the adequacy
of 75.07 and 73.29 per cent, respectively. Intake of protein was 5.25 (rural) and 5.56 g/d (urban) and could meet 104.48 per
cent and 110.65 per cent of one fourth RDA, respectively. The intake of fat among rural and urban children was equal
(6.12 % each), meeting the 97.92 per cent of one fourth ICMR recommendations. Breakfast consumption helps to increase
the intake of nutrients. In the present study, rural children ingested slightly higher (43.72 g) amount of carbohydrates than
the urban (42.08g), which probably has contributed to slight increase in the energy intake of rural (253 K cal) than urban
(247 Kcal) children (Table 1). Similar results of higher carbohydrate intake by rural children were noted by Toresset al.,
2007. Mean calorific intake by breakfast was around 250 Kcal meeting 74.18 per cent of one fourth RDA (Figure 1),
which was lower than the value reported by Torres et al, (2007) in Spain. This difference can be attributed to the variation
in breakfast items consumed, milk, cocoa and sugar, biscuits, breakfast cereals or bread in Spain as against dosa, upma,
biscuits in present study. Also, it may because to preschool children consume breakfast not in sufficient quantity to meet
one fourth of the RDA.

Table 2 shows the daily intake of the foods by the preschool children according to breakfast behavior. There
was significant difference in the intake of pulses, fruits, visible fats and eggs between breakfast consumers and skippers.
Breakfast consumers took significantly higher amount of pulses (14.76 g/d), fruits (30 g/d) and milk and milk products
(102.09 ml/d) and lower amounts of visible fat (7.66 g/d) and eggs (27.69 g/d) compared to skippers (pulses 8.66 g/d, fruits
0.0, milk and milk products 67.69 ml/d, visible fats 11.50 g/d and eggs 27.69 g/d) and these values are statistically
significant. The intake of cereals (244.92g), pulses (44.94g), GLVs (6.07g), roots and tubers (54.14g), The intake of milk
and milk products and sugars was higher in breakfast consumers (102.09 ml/d and 9.43 g/d, respectively) compared to
skippers (67.69 ml/d and 7.69 g/d, respectively) and the difference was statistically on par.

Daily intake of nutrients by the breakfast consumers and skippers is revealed in Table 3 and Figure 3. Except
visible fat, energy and sodium the intake of all nutrients was higher in breakfast consumers compared to skippers with the
adequacy of 82.12 per cent of fat and 61.63 per cent of energy. There was significant difference between consumers and
skippers in the intake of protein (19.82 vs. 15.36 g/d and 98.61 vs. 76.42 % adequate), visible fat (16.37 vs. 20.53 g/d and
65.48 vs. 82.12 % adequate) and sodium (99.85 vs. 175.58 mg/d). The evidence supporting the relationship between
breakfast consumption and body weight is growing (Utter et al., 2007). Children skipping breakfast tend to be significantly
heavier than those, who consume breakfast regularly. This might be due to the reason that breakfast skippers had consumed
higher amounts of visible fat and eggs (Table 3). In the present study, intake of pulses, fruits and milk was significantly
higher among those who consumed breakfast than skippers. Though milk intake was 35 ml higher among consumers, it
was not significant (Table 2). This higher consumption has resulted in increased intake of fat and energy (Table 20),

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76 Akkavva Wadakappanavar. S & Pushpa Bharati

which leads to higher weight among skippers. This can be attributed to the fact that children who are not regular in
breakfast consumption are less likely to regularly eat lunch or dinner and are significantly more likely to consume high fat,
empty calorie snack foods, mostly between the meals, thus resulting in an increase in the body weight. Many cross
sectional studies have documented relationship between skipping breakfast and higher BMI (Dwayeret al., 2001, Affinities
al., 2005, Sjoberget al., 2003, Keski-Rahkonenet al., 2003, Dea and Caputi, 2001 and Andersen et al., 2005). Berkley and
colleagues (2003) demonstrated that normal-weight children, who never ate breakfast gained more weight during a year
compared to peers, who usually ate breakfast, although this relationship was not found among overweight children.

CONCLUSIONS

Breakfast should provide 25 per cent of the daily nutrient requirement to an individual (Gibson and OSullivan,
1995). The quality of the breakfast is important, as the nutritional status of a child can be affected as well as the physical
and mental growth, health and general well-being of the child. Contribution of breakfast to the intake of major nutrients
among all the preschool children studied was less than one third or one fourth of the recommended dietary allowances,
except protein in both rural (104.48 %) and urban (110.65 %) locality. Energy intake of rural children (253 Kcal) was
slightly higher than urban children (247 Kcal) with the adequacy of 75.07 and 73.29 per cent, respectively. Intake of
protein was 5.25 (rural) and 5.56 g/d (urban) and could meet 104.48 per cent and 110.65 per cent of one fourth RDA,
respectively. There was significant difference between consumers and skippers in the intake of protein (19.82 vs. 15.36 g/d
and 98.61 vs. 76.42 % adequate), visible fat (16.37 vs. 20.53 g/d and 65.48 vs. 82.12 % adequate) and sodium (99.85 vs.
175.58 mg/d).

REFERENCES

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Moore, R. H., (2005). Breakfast consumption by African American and white adolescent girls correlates positively with
calcium and fiber intake and negatively with body mass index. Journal of American Dietetic Association, 105(6), 938-945

2. Andersen, L. F., Lillegaard, I.T., Over by, N., Lytle, L., Klepp, K. I. and Johansson, L., (2005). Overweight and obesity among
Norwegian schoolchildren: Changes from 1993 to 2000. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 33 (1), 99-106

3. Berkey, C. S., Rocket, H. R., Gillman, M. W., Field, A.E., &Colditz, G. A., (2003). Longitudinal study of skipping breakfast and
weight change in adolescents. International Journal of Obesity. 27, 1258-1266

4. Chitra, U. and Reddy, R., (2006).The role of breakfast in nutrient intake of urban school children. Public Health Nutrition.,
10(1),55-58

5. Colic Baric, I. &Satalic Z (2003). Breakfast food patterns among urban and rural Croatian schoolchildren. Nutrition and
Health, 17(1), 2941

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7. Dwyer, J.T., (2014). Defining Nutritious Breakfasts and Their Benefits Johanna. Journal of Academy Nutrition and Dietetetics
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8. Gibson, A. and OSullivan, L., (1995). Breakfast cereal consumption patterns and nutrient intakes in British school children.
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Role of Breakfast in Nutrient Intake of Preschool Children 77

9. Gross, S. M., Bronner, Y., Welch, C., Dewberry-Moore, N., Paige, D. M., (2004).Breakfast and lunch meal skipping patterns
among fourth-grade children from selected public schools in urban, suburban and rural Maryland. Journal of the American
Dietetic Association, 104(3), 4203

10. Keski Rahkonen, A., Kaprio, J., Rissanen, A., Virkkunen and Rose, R. J., (2003).Breakfast skipping and health compromising
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Lead Levels among Preschool Children. Environmental Health. 10(28), 1-8

12. Liu, J., McCauley, L., Compher, C., Yan, C., Shen, X., Needleman, H. and Pinto-Martin, J., (2013). Regular Breakfast and
Blood Lead Levels among Preschool Children. Environmental Health. 10(28),1-8

13. Manu and Khetarpaul, N., (2006).Gender differences in food consumption pattern and nutrient intake of Indian pre-school
children (3-4 years) in Haryana State. Journal of Nutrition and Health. 18(2), 141-149

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15. Sethi, M. and Dangwal, R., (2001). Breakfast eating patterns of school children and their impact on nutritional status.
Nutrition Foundation of India. 10,108114

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Update Series No. 10, Nutrition in Disease Management. New Delhi: The Nutrition Foundation of India, 816

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hydroxybutyrate, body mass index and academic performance in children from Extremadura, Spain. Nutrition Hospital. 22(4),
487-490

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APPENDICES
Table 1: Contribution of Breakfast to Nutrient Intake of Preschool Children N=120
Nutrients/Day Rural (N=60) Urban (N=60) One-Third RDA One-Fourth RDA
Major Nutrients (g)
Energy (kcal) 253107.89 247111.60 450 337
Protein 5.252.09 5.562.31 6.7 5.02
Visible fat 6.122.64 6.122.88 8.34 6.25
Fiber 2.181.29 1.771.26 - -
Carbohydrate 43.7220.14 42.0822.51 - -
Minerals (mg)
Calcium 41.5011.89 57.5129.65 200 150
Iron 3.925.60 2.745.07 4.34 3.25
Sodium 43.5134.19 95.4987.28 - -
Potassium 107.3360.11 95.2949.11 - -
Zinc 0.301.16 0.070.23 2.34 1.75
Magnesium 31.4838.96 17.9035.31 23.34 17.5

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78 Akkavva Wadakappanavar. S & Pushpa Bharati

Table 1: Contd.,
Copper 0.150.310.060.31 - -
Vitamins (mg)
carotene (g) 29.4513.20 42.1759.82 1066.67 800
Thiamine 0.160.09 0.150.07 0.24 0.17
Riboflavin 0.100.03 0.110.05 0.27 0.20
Niacin 1.431.14 1.061.06 3.67 2.75
Folic acid(g) 5.496.46 5.207.63 33.34 25
Ascorbic acid 2.241.26 1.621.31 13.34 10
Pyridoxine 0.010.03 0.000.02 0.30 0.22
RDA- Recommended Dietary Allowances, ICMR (2010)

Table 2: Food Consumption of Preschool Children as Influenced by Breakfast Pattern N=120

T Value
Foods (G) SBD Breakfast Consumers (N=94) Breakfast Skippers (N=26) Breakfast Consumers
and Skippers
Cereals 120 107.70 26.93 109.23 24.07 0.26NS
Pulses 30 14.76 7.46 8.66 6.56 3.70**
Other vegetables 100 35.27 10.68 35.77 10.17 0.82NS
Fruits 100 30.43 30.35 0.00 5.09**
Milk (ml) 500 102.09 86.26 67.69 62.30 1.89NS
Visible fat 25 7.66 2.67 11.50 6.73 4.45**
Sugar 20 9.43 4.78 7.69 5.34 1.60NS
Egg 50 17.34 21.80 27.69 23.37 2.10*
Nuts and oil seeds - 15.16 9.98 19.23 9.56 1.85NS
Dietary guidelines for Indians A manual, NIN, (2011), SBD Suggested Balance Diet,

Table 3: Breakfast Consumption Pattern as Influenced by Daily Nutrient Intake N=120

Always Often Sometime Rarely
Nutrients RDA Consumers Consumers Consumers Consumers SEM CD
(N=62) (N=32) (N=10) (N=16)
Major Nutrients
Energy (kcal) 1350 825 185.94 788 143.97 825 153.30 832 186.98 0.03 NS
Protein(g) 20.1 19.82 5.11a 18.00 4.70ab 16.79 4.33ab 15.36 3.85b 0.0027 0.008*
Visible fat(g) 25 16.37 4.92b 16.07 4.41b 17.99 5.42ab 20.53 5.87a 0.0027 0.008*
Fiber (g) - 9.08 2.63 8.55 2.18 8.50 1.93 7.66 2.03 0.003 NS
142.62 139.53 35.04 0.014 NS
Carbohydrate (g) - 149.86 35.07 142.55 28.49
28.46
Minerals (mg)
135.51 122.58 34.30 0.02 NS
Calcium 600 140.80 74.40 127.80 38.32
58.06
Iron 13 9.10 6.56 7.27 5.03 5.24 1.34 6.24 4.61 0.006 NS
129.83 185.26 175.58 0.023 0.08**
Sodium - 99.85 50.83b
80.00ab 101.57a 120.99a
357.36 372.58 0.029 NS
Potassium - 396.05 149.41 327.20 60.03
128.94 136.05
186.09 174.96 58.90 0.02 NS
Magnesium 70 206.10 72.75 193.83 58.35
63.73
Zinc 7 2.23 1.31 1.84 0.73 1.98 0.60 1.70 0.49 0.003 NS
Copper - 0.83 0.97 0.60 0.60 0.48 0.11 0.49 0.23 0.002 NS
Vitamins
138.84 186.20 113.13 77.10 0.025 NS
carotene ( g) 3200 113.37 80.58
117.55 146.14
Thiamine (mg) 0.7 0.74 0.29 0.74 0.26 0.73 0.15 0.79 0.36 0.00 NS
Riboflavin (mg) 0.8 0.36 0.11 0.37 0.11 0.42 0.11 0.40 1.15 0.001 NS
Niacin (mg) 11 6.44 2.26 5.70 1.76 5.53 5.25 5.45 1.55 0.004 NS

Impact Factor (JCC):5.9865 NAAS Rating: 4.16

Role of Breakfast in Nutrient Intake of Preschool Children 79

Table 3: Contd.,
Folic acid(g) 100 37.39 14.94 32.85 15.48 38.66 18.55 31.59 9.89 0.01 NS
Ascorbic acid 4.64 2.60 0.004 NS
40 6.95 4.19 6.42 3.96 5.08 1.90
(mg)
Pyridoxine(mg) 0.9 0.07 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.05 0.07 0.05 0.0006 NS
1-Always (6-7 days /week), 2-Often (4-5 days/week), 3-Sometimes (2-3 days/week), 4-Rarely (0-1 day/week), MUAC-
Mid Upper Arm Circumference

Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA), ICMR, 2010

Figure 1: Adequacy of One Fourth Contribution of Nutrients by the Breakfast

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